Louise Loves #12

Aldi Choceur Belgium Chocolate Waves

Do you remember those amazing Cadbury Snaps which were out a few years ago and discontinued?  Well I have rediscovered them in the form of Aldi's Chocolate Waves!  I bought these a few months ago and then forgot about them until I was in Aldi recently where I saw them again.  They are so tasty!!  I have had the milk chocolate, caramel and mint (which are dark chocolate) and I think they also do hazelnut.  My favourite is probably caramel but they are all so good.  Warning - highly addictive!

Brianna's Poppy Seed Dressing

A farm shop and cafe local to me in Scotland uses Brianna's salad dressings which are all quite unusual and unique favours.  My favourite is the Poppy Seed and I decided to splash out and buy it for myself from the shop, but I have seen them in Asda before as well.  It wasn't cheap at nearly £4 but I decided it would be worth it because it keeps in the fridge unlike the ones I normally buy from Morrisons so even though they are only about £1, I use them twice then need to bin them after 5 days.  It has a really usually flavour, quite sweet and creamy but then the poppy seeds give it a kick.  Despite the creaminess it is actually vegan!

Orange is the New Black

[source]

I am definitely late to the party with this one!  OITNB wasn't something that really appealed to me but eventually so many people were talking about how good it was I thought I'd give it a try (after unexpectedly finishing OUAT on Netflix!).  It wasn't what I expected at all and am loving it, it's different from anything I have watched before.  I have just started season 3, oh my god, that season 2 finale!!

Public Desire Summer Boots

I only discovered Public Desire recently through girls at work and they have some amazing shoes at decent prices!  I am usually in a pair of chelsea boots so I thought I would try out something similar but more summery.  I went for Amira Ankle Boots in Beige and Priscilla Heeled Boots in Black which are £29.99 each but I got 10% off for signing up to their newsletter.  The higher heel was a bit of shock for me, and driving was a bit of a struggle (got some flats in my car now!) but they are pretty comfy in general, the black pair slightly more so.  I do find it quite amusing that although they both have zips on the outside, the actually functioning zip is on the inside ha!  I just hope the beige ones don't get too messed up, I have used Crep Protect on them so fingers crossed.

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Lunch at Prezzo

Recently while my friend was down visiting me for the weekend and we went for lunch in Manchester city centre before she got the train home.  We wandered through The Printworks looking for somewhere to eat and came across Prezzo where neither of us had been before.  At a quick glance the menu looked pretty good so we went in.  First impressions were that we were ignored and walked past by a lot of the staff until finally Louise asked the next staff member we saw for a table.

However after this disappointing start everything got a lot better!  After properly reading the menu there were loads of things I wanted, a pretty good vegetarian selection.  Although a lot of them involve goat's cheese and butternut squash so if you're not a fan of them it might not be so good!  Fortunately I love these two things and went for the Goat's Cheese and Vegetable Risotto which had butternut squash, courgettes and green beans in it.  Louise went for Spaghetti Carbonara, but we were really hungry so decided to share the Large Bread Board as a starter.

The bread board turned out to be AMAZING!  How good does it look?!  It's made up of tomato and pesto bread, mozzarella and garlic bread, rosemary flatbread and ciabatta with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.  I could just eat this over and over...  This was £5.35 between us.

I nearly forget to take a photo of my main and had started eating when Louise reminded me ha, hence why it looks a bit dishevelled!  Sometimes risotto can be really creamy, sickly and samey but I really enjoyed this.  It wasn't too creamy, with the creaminess mostly coming from the goat's cheese which there was a perfect amount of.  The different bits of veg made it more interesting too.  It's quite a small portion considering it is £10.95 but I don't mind as it was the perfect size for me, I managed to finish it with ease and without feeling too full.  I think if I hadn't had the bread before I'd probably been able to eat more so I'm glad we decided to have a starter.  My only criticisms would be that I'd have preferred larger pieces of butternut squash and probably a slightly larger portion - only because I have a fairly small appetite so it might not be enough for other people! 

I'd really like to go back and try some of the other options I was eyeing up!  See their menu here.

Have you got a favourite at Prezzo?

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DIY Frozen Sweet Potato Chips

I had no idea what to call this post!  Basically it's a 'recipe' for making a big batch of sweet potato chips which can be stored in the freezer until needed.  I love doing this as I always have them to hand to shove in the oven for lazy dinner nights.

Sweet potatoes are so good for using as an alternative to normal potatoes for chips or wedges but can be a bit time consuming to make from scratch each time.  I've used this method a few times and it works out great.  I live by myself so it's handy having them in 1 portion sized bags that I can just bring out and use when I fancy them.

As well as being super yummy, sweet potatoes are really good for you!  They are full of vitamins C, D and the minerals iron, magnesium and potassium.  [source] 

Start by washing your potatoes - use as many as you like.

Cut them up into relatively similar sized chips/wedges.  You can peel them if you like but I love the skin!

Boil a big pan of water, enough to cover all the potatoes, and add them to the pot.  Leave them boiling for a few minutes.  Meanwhile, prepare a bowl with cold water and add ice cubes.

Transfer the chips from the pan into the cold water and leave until cool.

Once they have cooled, separate them into portions and seal in freezer bags.

Put them in the freezer! 

To actually cook them, all you do is bring out a bag and run the chips under cool water to thaw slightly.  Spray a foil lined baking tray with oil, place the chips on the tray and spray with some more oil.  Leave them plain with some sea salt and pepper sprinkled over or rub in mixed herbs or spices using olive oil for some flavour.  Place in the oven at about 200c for 18-20 mins.  Voila!

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Dinner at Chiquitos

At some point before I moved down to Manchester, Chris and I went on a wee date to Chiquitos and I thought I'd share my meal with you and do a mini review!

We started off with a plate of nachos to share - it was just the normal size though not the bigger one.  They came with cheese, salsa, jalapeños, sour cream and guacamole with some green stuff sprinkled on top?!  Coriander maybe?  They were really good but there was something else which had a funny flavour to it, a bit of a minty edge which was unusual, we weren't sure what it was!

For the main course I had roasted vegetable fajitas which were pretty epic!  It was two huge skewers of vegetables with more underneath then on another plate were your sauces and wraps.  If you ran out of any of those they would refill for free which I think is great.  We both got a couple more tortillas but I still couldn't finish my veggies.  There were green and red peppers, red onion, sweet potato and courgette I think?  Chris got chicken fajitas which were a similar layout but actually looked less than mine!

We also got sweet potato fries which were really good, we added them into our wraps haha.  We probably shouldn't have got these as we had so much food already, and if I known I'd have sweet potato in my fajita skewers I probably wouldn't have bothered.

For both our meals and drinks it was about £40 which I think it quite a lot considering it's more tex mex rather than an authentic mexican restaurant but I would still go back on occasion.

What's your favourite Mexican restaurant?  I went to Pancho Villas once and I'd really like to go back there.

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Homemade Veggie Nandos

Nando's seems to be a bit of a love or hate thing, some people are obsessed and others think it's rubbish and overrated.  I am part of the 'love it' category which probably sounds crazy to some people seeing as Nandos is a chicken restaurant and I don't eat chicken...  But if you actually look at the menu, yes there's loads of chicken, but there's also loads of veggie options!  For example, for the main meals you have bean burger, veggie burger or portobello mushroom and halloumi...  The one I always get is the latter, usually in a burger with chips and spicy rice.

However one night I was lying in bed and had this sudden amazing idea - to make a homemade Nando's using Quorn?!  So the next night my boyfriend and I were cooking dinner so we decided to have a go at this and see how it would turn out.

We went to Asda and picked up the following ingredients:

Quorn 6 Chicken Fillets
Nando's Peri-Peri rub in Medium
Nando's Garlic Peri-Peri Sauce
Nando's Chip Salt
Asda Seasoned French Fries
Shredded iceberg lettuce
Pitta bread (we got the giant ones)

1. We started by turning on the oven for the chips and rolling 4 chicken pieces in the spice rub.
2. Put some chips on a tray and sprinkle some chip salt over them.
3. Heat olive oil in a griddle or frying pan then place in the 4 chicken pieces.
4. Fry the Quorn on both sides until cooked through, adding in more of the spice mix if desired.
5. Toast the pitta bread in toaster or under the grill to heat them up.
6. Assemble everything on the plate - 2 pieces of Quorn, lettuce and sauce in the pitta, then chips at the side with more chip salt over the top.

It was sooo good!  Far too spicy though, when we made it the second time we used the Lemon & Herb Peri-Peri rub and it was so much better, didn't burn my tongue off!  My boyfriend hadn't tried Quorn before and he said he really enjoyed it and couldn't tell it wasn't real meat.

Have you got any good meat substitute recipes?  The Nandos products are also suitable for vegans so it could quite easily be adjusted for a vegan diet too.

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Birthday Celebrations at Òran Mór

On Febraury 4th it was my dad's birthday so to celebrate went to the cinema (Jack Ryan: Shadow Agent) and then to Òran Mór for dinner.  The Òran Mór is a bar/restaurant converted church at the top of Byres Road, Glasgow.  We'd never been there before so weren't quite sure what to expect!  We ate in the main bit which is also the bar, called the John Muir Room.

For starters, my mum and I shared nachos which came with salsa, cheese, jalapeños, creme fraîche and guacamole.  The plate was huge!  I am so glad we shared as if I'd ate that alone I wouldn't have managed much for the main meal.  It was amazing, definitely one of the best nachos I've had - especially because they come with guac, yum!!

My dad had vegetable pakora which I didn't try but he seemed to enjoy them.  Also a good size portion!

For my main course I had Goat's Cheese and Caramelised Red Onion Salad with a side of chips.  I didn't feel like anything too heavy so I went for this, but got the chips for a bit of substance!  The chips are honestly amazing, I love big chunky homemade ones which still have the skin on.  They also came with garlic mayo which is probably my favourite dip ever!  The salad was nice but I found it too much to have as a main course, I'd prefer a smaller portion as a starter given the choice.

My mum had a Salmon Burger.  We've never come across a salmon burger before so weren't sure what it would be like but she said it was really nice.  It came with chips, salad and sort of salsa sauce.

My dad had a Beef Burger which also came with chips and some salad.  He said it was a really good quality homemade burger - it's made with 100% Scotch Steak Mince.

Here is a link to the Òran Mór's website and this is link to the menu for the John Muir Room.

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Simple Creamy Pasta

In case you don't know, I love pasta!  I eat it far too much and I've started buying gluten-free packs so it's healthier!  I usually have it for my lunch if I'm quite hungry and need something more filling.  I quite often make cheesy pasta which you can find the recipe for here, but it's a bit more time consuming so I've started making this really quick and tasty one.  It's a bit vague because I just make it up every time so hopefully you get the gist!  This serves one.

it tastes better than it looks!

Ingredients:

• 80-100g pasta shapes
• 2-3tbsp of mayonnaise - enough to coat the pasta
• 0.5-1tsp of mustard (I tend to use Dijon)
• Some grated cheese - as much as you like!
• Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

Method:

Boil the pasta as you would normally then drain and return to the pot.

Add in the mayo and mustard, stir until the pasta is coated.

Add in the cheese over a low heat and let it melt.

Finally, add in the tomatoes and serve!

Other suggestions:

You could eat this cold, so prepare it the night before to have for lunch the next day.  

You can add in any other vegetables if you want, just sauté them in a pan while the pasta in cooking then add in at the end.

Add frozen peas or sweetcorn 2 minutes before the pasta is ready.

~

So that's it!  If you have any easy pasta recipes then please leave me links below!

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Christmas Giveaway! [CLOSED]

The last giveaway I did was when I hit 100 followers on GFC and as I've not done one since I though it would be nice to do a Christmas one!!  Unfortunately this one is just going to be UK only as I think it will be heavy to post and also as it's close to Christmas the post gets rather manic!  Items included:

- Lindt Santas Sleigh

- Candy Cane

- Models Own Jack Frost nail varnish

- Linea Christmas Berry candle

- Lush North Pole soap

- Lush Northern Lights soap

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!!

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Louise Loves #8

I have had quite a busy week.  I had my tattoo covering project to hand in for Monday but couldn't actually do the work for it until the Friday before (my concealers didn't arrive!), was babysitting 3 kids on Saturday, then on Monday I had a singing rehearsal - my friends and I are singing at the last Christmas concert in my old high school before it gets pulled down!  Anyway, I passed my tattoo project - yay! - and I am going to do a basic tattoo covering guide on here too which should be up tomorrow.  I mentioned last week that we are now onto Fashion Makeup at college, so we started with a smokey eye, and I'm pleased to say my model did not end up looking like she'd been punched!

I'm afraid this week's favourites are fairly boring but never mind, enjoy!

River Cottage Veg Everyday! Cookbook

I bought this book from The Works a couple of months ago as someone (maybe my auntie?) had said it was really good.  So far we have made quite a few things from it.  Last night we made a spinach spoufflé (soufflé with pasta in it!) which was really tasty and you can also replace the spinach with courgette for a different flavour.  The night before that we had tomato and mozzarella risotto.  I noticed that beside some titles there is a V and it took me a minute to realise that that must mean vegan, so it will be interesting to try out some vegan dishes (my dad will be disgusted!).
[£12.50 from Amazon]

Lush Northern Lights Soap

I did a short post on this along with my Lush soap storage a while ago, but I think I will do a review of it quite soon by itself.  This is probably my favourite soap full stop, I just love the smell and the colour of it, it's so bright!  Oh and apologies for the stock photo, I tend to avoid them but my one is not looking attractive right now haha!
[£3.25/100g from Lush]

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Louise Loves #3

It's my birthday tomorrow :D It's my 21st and my parents are taking me to the Harry Potter Studios for the day - I'm such a big kid, but I really can't wait!

Silvery Lilac nail varnish by Barry M 

This was the first time I'd worn it and it's so pretty!  However, the main reason it's in my favourites this week is that I painted my nails on Friday night and it was still going strong on Tuesday when I took it off - I only took it off because I wanted a different colour on!  This is verging on a miracle for me!  Nail varnish literally lasts about 48 hours on my nails, I've no idea why but I have just accepted this fact and it doesn't really bother me now.  So when it was still intact after two days at work, I was very impressed, and it continued!

Obviously I used base and top coat and I doubt very much that this would have lasted that long by itself but I used exactly the same products I always use!
[£2.99 from Boots or Superdrug]

Asda Duo Chocolate Spread

Although I'm sure this will be a long-term favourite for me, I thought I'd add it in anyway as I got a new tub this week!  This is another really good vegetarian treat.  After finding out that Nutella wasn't vegetarian (although they did email me to tell me that now it is, however I won't be happy buying it until the packaging states that it is!) I went hunting for an alternative.  A lot of the main brand's spreads are not vegetarian though, Asda included I'm pretty sure.  Tesco's are veggy so I tried them, they were alright but not amazing.  Then randomly I decided to check Asda's and it now states that it is vegetarian!  I got this flavour and the normal chocolate hazelnut, which was nowhere near as nice.  The duo one is a winner, it's really sweet, but not too sweet.

I am a massive weirdo and eat it with sliced apple - it tastes amazing!  But it would be good on toast or however you usually have spread.
[£1.54 from Asda]

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Louise Loves #1

I have decided to try and do a series of weekly favourites, which will include a few things I have been really liking, but not specifically beauty or make up items.  I'm kind of scared about doing this incase I will feel pressured to do it religiously and get myself all stressed if I forget (which is silly!)... Anyway I'm going to just go for it, I guess if it ends up not being weekly it's hardly the end of the world :)

Dorothy Perkins earrings

I won these earrings from Jen at The Big Burd's blog giveaway and I love them!  They're not something I would have picked up myself so I'm really pleased I got them.  They sort of look like small stretchers but obviously the actual pierced bit is just a normal earring size!
[Price unknown from Dorothy Perkins]

Tesco Jelly Sweets

I had heard about these through Karris I think?  But where I live we don't have a Tesco nearby, however now that I have to commute to college a couple of days, it takes me past a huge Tesco Extra.  So every couple of weeks I pop in to get my fix of vegetarian jelly sweets! They also come in cola flavour, and the ones which look like multi-coloured astrobelts are veggy too!  Morrisons also do fizzy strawberry sweets but they're not as nice as these ones.  I am totally addicted!  According to this website, they appear to be vegan too which is amazing.

[3 for £1 from Tesco]

Butter London Disco Biscuit

I've been really loving this polish recently, in the photo it is layered over a neon pink which you can see in a NOTD post here.  It's so bright and pink, with a subtle blue shimmer.  My gran disapproves hahah.
[£12 from www.cutecosmetics.co.uk]

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Easy Cheesy Pasta!

I was feeling like some pasta yesterday afternoon but we didn't have any sauce so I made a cheese sauce from scratch!  I wasn't very sure how this would turn out but it was actually really good so I thought I'd share it with you - also so I can make it again!  This recipe serves one.

Uhh, looks really appetising doesn't it, haha!

Ingredients:

• 20g of margarine/butter
• 20g plain flour
• 175-200mls milk
• 1 tsp of English Mustard (adjust to taste)
• salt & pepper
• 2-3 tbsp of any kind of cheese
• 1 mug of macaroni

Method:
Melt the marg on a low heat and then take off the heat and sieve in the flour until it is a paste.

Put it back on the heat for 2 minutes - this takes the floury taste away!

Boil a kettle and put your pasta on at some point and leave to cook while you finish the sauce!  I add a drop of sunflower oil to stop the pasta sticking to each other. 

Gradually add in the milk to the flour mixture, stirring to avoid lumps.  I only used 150mls of milk but my sauce was a lot thicker than I would have liked!

Once all the milk has been added (the more you add, the thinner it will be) bring to the boil and keep stirring.

Simmer until it is all thickened up nicely!

Take off the heat and add in your mustard (if you want), cheese (I used Parmesan and Gruyere) and seasoning.  Then give it a taste and see if you need to add any more of anything.

Drain the pasta and stir it in with the sauce, voila!

I was going to add some wee tomatoes but I totally forgot...

Anyway, I thought this was rather tasty!  Let me know if you have a go at it, or if you have any other good easy veggy recipes on your blog!

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